Stage One of the project comprises 61 turbines (226MW nameplate capacity), to be located approximately 30 kilometers north of Horsham.

During this stage of the project, around 150 jobs in regional Victoria will be created during construction. Once fully operational, which is expected to occur by mid-2019, Murra Warra Stage One will generate permanent jobs for ongoing monitoring and maintenance works.

RES and Macquarie Capital are providing equity finance for Stage One. Debt financing of approximately $A320 million has been secured for Stage One through a consortium comprising of ANZ, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Westpac Banking Corporation.

Today’s announcement follows the announcement in December 2017 of long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) that were secured with a consortium of large energy users including Telstra, ANZ, Coca Cola Amatil and the University of Melbourne. Securing these PPAs provided the project with contracting certainty over the power output from Stage One.

Pre-construction works have already begun. A contract for construction has been awarded to Senvion, one of the world’s leading turbine manufacturers, and Downer, one of Australia’s top civil and electrical contractors. The project will be connected to the grid network by a new terminal station which will be built, owned, and operated by AusNet services.

Matt Rebbeck, Chief Executive Officer of RES Australia said: “The Murra Warra Wind Farm is a world class project which once constructed will be one of the highest performing wind farms in the southern hemisphere.”

“We are proud to be making this important contribution to the regional Victorian economy. We have developed a strong relationship with the local community and look forward to continuing to engage with community stakeholders as we enter into the construction phase for Stage One.”

Marco Perona, Commercial Director RES EMEA commented: “This is a significant achievement for the Australian business and for the RES Group as a whole, and another step in the realisation of RES’ vision of a future where everyone has access to affordable low carbon energy.”

Chris Voyce, Macquarie Capital’s ANZ Co-head of Infrastructure, Utilities and Renewables said: “Murra Warra Wind Farm is a strong example of project developers with complementary expertise partnering together to deliver important greenfield energy projects that increase and diversify the supply of electricity.”

Chris continued “Achieving financial close means Stage One of Murra Warra is now fully funded, and with the PPAs signed in late 2017, there are guaranteed customers for the clean energy that will be generated. This demonstrates a market for clean electricity in Australia, and has given the local community certainty over the economic benefits of the project.”

When both Stage One and Stage Two are fully constructed, Murra Warra will comprise 116 turbines and have a total nameplate capacity of 429MW.

Rome, November 14th, 2017 – Enel S.p.A. (“Enel”), through its US-based renewables subsidiary Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (“EGPNA”), has started operations of the Rock Creek wind farm in the United States. Rock Creek is the first Enel project…

Rome, November 14th, 2017 – Enel S.p.A. (“Enel”), through its US-based renewables subsidiary Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (“EGPNA”), has started operations of the Rock Creek wind farm in the United States. Rock Creek is the first Enel project to begin operations in the state of Missouri and is the largest operational wind farm in the state.

“The completion of Rock Creek nearly two months ahead of schedule is a testament to the project team’s tremendous effort and the continuing support received from the local community,” said Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel Green Power. “We are proud to call Missouri home to our second largest operating wind farm in the US. Through Rock Creek we continue to expand our geographical footprint and operational capacity in the US, while also delivering long-term value for the local community.”

The wind facility, located in Atchison County, Missouri, is owned by EGPNA subsidiary Rock Creek Wind Project, LLC. Investment in the construction of Rock Creek amounted to, approximately, 500 million US dollars. Rock Creek is expected to generate approximately 1,250 GWh annually – equivalent to the energy consumption needs of more than 100,000 U.S. households – while avoiding the emission of about 900,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

The facility’s power and renewable energy credits are being sold under two separate bundled, long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with utilities Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company (GMO).

With the start of production of Rock Creek, EGPNA now brings the state’s total operating wind capacity to nearly 1 GW of power1.

The project also was the recent recipient of local development agency Atchison County Development Corporation’s 2017 Economic Development Award for its significant economic impact in the region during construction and throughout the life of the project.

EGPNA is a leading owner and operator of renewable energy plants in North America with projects operating and under development in 23 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. EGPNA operates around 100 plants with a managed capacity exceeding 3.6 GW powered by renewable hydropower, wind, geothermal and solar energy. The company is currently the largest wind operator in Kansas and the second largest wind operator in Oklahoma.

Enel Green Power, the renewable energies division of the Enel Group, is dedicated to the development and operation of renewables in 24 countries, with a presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Enel Green Power is a global leader in the green energy sector with a managed capacity of more than 39 GW across a generation mix that includes wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydropower, and is at the forefront of integrating innovative technologies like storage systems into renewable power plants.

RES has been chosen to deliver operations and maintenance (O&M) services to the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult for their offshore met mast situated approximately three nautical miles off Blyth.

RES will be delivering scheduled and unscheduled maintenance plus 24/7 remote operations for the structures, equipment and instrumentation systems. This will include all work on the mast together with project management, data management and provision of offshore logistics. A major component of the services will be the provision of support to the installation and maintenance activities relevant to research and developments projects developed by ORE Catapult and tested on the structures of the met mast.

This contract follows a previous three year contract term where RES provided the support services to ORE Catapult to operate and maintain the Anemometer Hub.

"By winning a competitive tender process we have demonstrated to our client that our experience and expertise in providing O&M services to the wider offshore wind industry matched with excellent health & safety track record and good value for money is very difficult to beat.”